Fulham manager Mark Hughes warned he has just three games left to save job at Craven Cottage

Mark Hughes faces a battle to save his job following Fulham’s failure to win
in eight games. It is understood the former Wales manager will be given
three games to produce a victory after the club dropped into the relegation
zone on Boxing Day and fans began calling for his head.

Borrowed time: Mark Hughes has seen his Fulham side fail to win in their last eight gamesPhoto: REUTERS

Fulham visit Stoke City on Tuesday then Tottenham on Saturday before hosting West Bromwich Albion next Tuesday. Given that Fulham have not won away in the Premier League for 16 months, the visit of Albion takes on greater significance.

Mohamed Fayed, the Fulham chairman and owner, watched Sunday’s 3-1 defeat by relegation rivals West Ham on television and is understood to have been satisfied with the team’s first-half performance.

Fulham have taken just four points from a possible 24 and are in the bottom three for the first time since the 2007-08 season, when Fayed sacked Lawrie Sanchez in December following a 1-0 home defeat that dropped the team into the bottom three.

Roy Hodgson was appointed and steered the club to safety thanks to a last-day win at Portsmouth. Hodgson led Fulham to seventh in his first full season and last term took them to the Europa League final before departing for Liverpool.

Hughes’s reign has been hampered by a succession of injuries. Andrew Johnson has only just returned from a lengthy absence, while Philippe Senderos injured an Achilles before he had a chance to make his debut, after signing from Arsenal, and is out until early February.

Hughes has been denied the services of Bobby Zamora, who broke a leg against Wolves in September and is not expected back for another six to eight weeks. With Moussa Dembele also missing, Fulham have lacked firepower. Hughes admitted after the West Ham defeat that he needed a striker in the January window.

The Welshman faces a busy January and his targets include Manchester City’s out-of-favour Paraguayan forward Roque Santa Cruz, whom Hughes has signed twice. He has also been linked with Papiss Cisse, the Senegalese striker who plays for German club Freiburg. Aston Villa midfielder Stephen Ireland is also on the wanted list.

When Hughes arrived in the summer he signed only a two-year contract so a pay-off would not be huge were Fulham to end his tenure. There would be the problem, though, of finding a replacement.

In the summer former Spurs manager Martin Jol held talks with Fulham, but he decided to remain at Ajax. However, he is available after resigning from the Dutch club earlier this month.

It is understood, though, that he would again reject any approach. Sam Allardyce, sacked recently by Blackburn, is also available, as is former Villa manager Martin O’Neill.

Fayed would prefer to keep faith with Hughes and the players believe he is the right man for the job.

Aaron Hughes, who scored for Fulham on Sunday, called for unity ahead of the forthcoming games.

The Northern Irishman said: “There’s still a lot of games in the next two weeks in quick succession where if we can get a win and a bit of momentum going then we can turn things around pretty quick.

“Stoke is a difficult place to go but we have to look ahead and get some points on the board so we don’t get stuck down in the relegation zone and don’t let other teams drift away from us.

“The most important thing for us is that we don’t start pointing the finger. We haven’t gone from being a good side to not a good side overnight.

“We’re disappointed with the situation we find ourselves in but the confidence hasn’t drained out of the side, we still believe in each other and still know we can put a lot of things right.”

Crunch games

Stoke City (away, Tuesday) Fulham last won an away game in August 2009, they have just five points from a possible 24 on the road and have not won at Stoke in the top flight since 1967.

Tottenham Hostpur (away, Saturday) Fulham have won only once at White Hart Lane in the Premier League, in 2003, and, when the teams met at Craven Cottage in October, they lost 2-1.

West Bromwich Albion (home, Tues, Jan 4) The good news for Fulham is that Albion have lost on each of their four Premier League visits to Craven Cottage, conceding 12 goals and scoring once in the process.